1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connector, more particularly to an electrical connector capable of being switched between two states.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional electrical connector 1 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,592. The conventional electrical connector 1 includes a tubular housing 11, a first terminal 14 fixed on and extending radially into the housing 11, an insulating elastic member 12 anchored in the housing 11, a second terminal 13 disposed in the housing 11 and extending in an axial direction (X′) through the elastic member 12, a conductive sleeve 15 sleeved movably on and contacting electrically the second terminal 13, and an insulating actuating sleeve 16 sleeved movably on the second terminal 13.
The conventional electrical connector 1 is normally operated in a first state, where the conductive sleeve 15 contacts electrically the first terminal 14 such that the first terminal 14 is connected electrically to the second terminal 13 via the conductive sleeve 15. When an external terminal 100 is inserted into the housing 11 so as to be coupled electrically to a female end portion of the second terminal 13, the actuating sleeve 16 is pushed by the external terminal 100 to move toward the conductive sleeve 15. Hence, the conductive sleeve 15 is pushed by the actuating sleeve 16 to move away from the first terminal 14 and to compress the elastic member 12. As a result, the conventional electrical connector 1 comes into a second state, where the external terminal 100 is connected electrically to the second terminal 13, as shown in FIG. 2.
In such a configuration, when the conventional electrical connector 1 is switched from the second state to the first state, i.e., the external terminal 100 is removed from the housing 11, the conductive sleeve 15 is pushed by the elastic member 12 due to the restoration force thereof to move toward the first terminal 14 until the conductive sleeve 15 contacts electrically the first terminal 14. It is noted that, during movement of the conductive sleeve 15 toward the first terminal 14, since a part of the conductive sleeve 15 is stopped by the first terminal 14, inertia of the conductive sleeve 15 results in deviation of the conductive sleeve 15 from the axial direction (X′), as shown in FIG. 1. As a result, an annular outer surface of the second terminal 13 is easily scratched by the conductive sleeve 15, thereby affecting adversely high-frequency signal transmission of the second terminal 13 and electrical contact between the conductive sleeve 15 and the first terminal 14 after a period of use.